Seeking to tamp down rising anxiety in Europe, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is not gearing up for “any kind” of conflict with the continent, pushing back against warnings from some NATO members that Moscow could threaten alliance territory.
The Kremlin chief insisted Russia had “no real motive” to further inflame tensions and took aim at European governments that have suggested otherwise.
“Many in Europe talk about expecting an attack from Russia and therefore believe they must themselves prepare for hostilities, for a war with Russia,” Putin told reporters in Saint Petersburg.
“I want to emphasise once again: we are not preparing for any kind of hostilities with Europe,” he added.
Comments from Ukraine’s European partners have increasingly reflected concern about the possibility of covert Russian action beyond Ukraine as the war drags into its fifth year.
Earlier this month, Germany accused Moscow of planning a drone attack at Leipzig airport in August, while Poland has warned Russia could fire drones and missiles and countries supporting Ukraine.
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Mr Putin said Russia was also weighing its position on whether to restart peace talks with Ukraine after a series of recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
“On proposals to resume negotiations, yes, they are all on the table, and it is all possible — but after everything they’ve done, we will give careful thought to what steps we need to take in response,” Mr Putin said.
He argued that Kyiv had initiated provocative attacks and would now face the consequences of what he described as a sustained response from Moscow.
“They are the ones who started it. Everywhere, on every front. Are these play things, child’s play?” Mr Putin told reporters.
“They should therefore be made to feel Russia’s retaliatory strikes and understand that no provocative actions, no stirring up the situation to secure a result will work. They’re only making things worse for themselves.”
Rescue workers at the scene where a 14-year-old boy was killed in a strike on an apartment block in Kyiv
Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone strike in Kyiv
Russian strikes shut Ukrainian steelmaker, seven people killed in Kyiv
Steelmaker Arcelor Mittal said it was shutting production at Ukraine’s largest steel plant, highlighting the deepening economic fallout of Russia’s airstrikes as seven people were killed in Kyiv today, including a 14-year-old boy.
Arcelor Mittal said it had notified the Ukrainian government that “safe and sustainable” operations could not continue after four strikes in five weeks caused heavy damage and killed five workers at the southeastern plant.
The closure marks another setback for Ukraine’s once-mighty steel industry, which previously made up 15% of the country’s exports but has been squeezed by Russian attacks and restrictions from the EU, its largest trading partner.
Russia has stepped up air strikes across Ukraine in recent months, deploying ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones that have struck businesses, logistics networks, Black Sea port facilities and civilian infrastructure.
Officials have said the economic shock from the attacks is eroding tax revenue and widening the government’s budget gap as it tries to finance the war.
A man stands amid building debris and looks at a damaged car following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv
“The Russians are constantly expanding their escalation operation,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “It is important that the world responds to all of this and that Russia feels the response to its terror.”
Ukraine has also intensified strikes inside Russia, hitting defence and energy sites as well as major online retailers as it seeks to weaken revenues and public support for Moscow’s war effort.
In central Kyiv early today, a drone hit a high-rise building, killing a 14-year-old boy in what Mr Zelensky called an “absolutely savage and sickening” attack.
Later, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four bodies were found in a parking lot after a separate daytime strike on an office building.
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He said 46 people were injured in today’s attacks, including 25 who were hospitalised.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in the war, triggered by its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The United Nations said today its monitoring mission in Ukraine had recorded at least 200 civilian deaths in September from attacks that also damaged “homes, hospitals, shops and workplaces”.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had carried out overnight drone strikes on Ukrainian defence industry facilities, logistics centres and vessels used by Kyiv’s armed forces.
In Ukraine’s latest attacks on Russia, a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov region.
Mr Zelensky confirmed the strike, saying Ukraine had also hit a similar facility in Perm and a defence enterprise in Ulyanovsk.
